Union Church Proposal, 1903-1907
Title
Union Church Proposal, 1903-1907
Description
Two letters proposing that the Granville churches form a "Union Church." The 1903 letter is from David Lyman Kibbe, pastor or the Congregational Church on the hill. The 1906 letter is from Edgar Alonzo Brownell of the Methodist Episcopal Church, which at the time was meeting in the old Universalist Church building.
The 1903 Kibbe letter refers to the Baptist, Methodist and Congregational churches, while the 1906 Brownell letter refers only to the Congregational and Baptist churches.
The third letter is dated 1907 and comments that "the outlook for consolidating of the two churches is rather remote."
There is no evidence that a Union Church was ever formed and there is no reference to this proposal in Wilson's "History of Granville."
The basic issue raised by the pastors in 1903 seems to have continued, with the Methodist church ceasing activity in 1922. In 1937 the need to have a few strong churches rather than more weak churches resulted in the formation of the Federated Church, when the First Church of Christ Congregational (the church on the hill) pooled resources with the Granville Baptist Church.
Neither Edgar Brownell (1875 - 1908) nor David Kebbe (1863 - 1933) lived to see the day when their proposal, made over 30 years earlier, would come to fruition.
The 1903 Kibbe letter refers to the Baptist, Methodist and Congregational churches, while the 1906 Brownell letter refers only to the Congregational and Baptist churches.
The third letter is dated 1907 and comments that "the outlook for consolidating of the two churches is rather remote."
There is no evidence that a Union Church was ever formed and there is no reference to this proposal in Wilson's "History of Granville."
The basic issue raised by the pastors in 1903 seems to have continued, with the Methodist church ceasing activity in 1922. In 1937 the need to have a few strong churches rather than more weak churches resulted in the formation of the Federated Church, when the First Church of Christ Congregational (the church on the hill) pooled resources with the Granville Baptist Church.
Neither Edgar Brownell (1875 - 1908) nor David Kebbe (1863 - 1933) lived to see the day when their proposal, made over 30 years earlier, would come to fruition.
Date
1903
1906
1906
Contributor
The Noble & Cooley Center for Historic Preservation
Rights
Digital images copyright 2019, the Noble & Cooley Center for Historic Preservation
Collection
Citation
“Union Church Proposal, 1903-1907,” Granville History Digital Collection, accessed April 24, 2024, https://granvillehistory.omeka.net/items/show/1139.
Comments